Edo Festival and Awards in the UK is an event created to bring Edo Sons and Daughters in The Diaspora together to celebrate our rich culture and heritage while recognising inspirational Edo individuals for their contributions to the Edo community.On the day, we will have a ray of diverse entertainment including:Ø Cultural troupe dance from Edo StateØ Stand up comedy,Ø Recognition award presentations andØ High profile as well as up and coming musicians fromEdo State performingWe will be awarding inspirational Edo State representatives for their contributions with recognition awards.VIP guests will include honourable members from the Nigeria house of senate as well as honourable members from Edo state house of assembly, senators and house of rep. We will also have ministers, MP’s, actors and other well-known faces in the Edo community. Mayors and councillors in our local boroughs in the United Kingdom will also be attending. There will be sufficient press coverage throughout the event.

My name is Tony Tokunbo Eteka Fernandez. I am a Published Writer, Poet, Compere, Mentor, Motivational Speaker and Radio Presenter and Producer for a UK based African Talk show aimed at empowering communities worldwide including the youth and African Role Models.

Part of my initiatives also involve Youth empowerment projects and Mentoring for Black Youth in communities within the UK. I also give motivational talks on Self-Esteem and Personal Goals.

As part of my work, I will be organising a Black History Month Celebration in conjunction with Alok Sharma MP on Wednesday 30th October 2013.

The purpose of the event is for various people to network, engage and share information about their organisations and countries in celebration of Black History Month. The event will also serve as a great networking platform for Entrepreneurs and organisations to build relationships and work together. Alok Sharma MP, will be attending the event as a Guest Speaker and there will also be great Black Role Model, Entrepreneurs, Community Leaders and people making a difference in attendance on the day. There will be professionals from Nigeria, Ghana. Kenya, Jamaica, Zambia, Zimbabwe and many other countries and I also intend to invite Ambassadors and possibly some governors in Nigeria.

Africa Fashion Week Nigeria will be taking place on the 11th & 12th October 2013.

If you are a designer or sponsor and would like to be involved in the biggest fashion week for new, aspiring and established designers that Nigeria has to offer then like our page now or email us at Afwn@africafashionweeklondonuk.com for further information.

MODELS: the Face of Africa Fashion Week Nigeria Facebook competition will be taking place soon so like our page to be kept updated on this fantastic opportunity.

We aim to promote emerging Nigerian designers, within and outside the shores of Nigeria.

We believe that fashion is about creativity & sustainabilityAFWN is a new platform for Nigerian designers and a combination of fashion and culture

Our mission is the promotion of made in Nigeria designs.

Africa Fashion Week Nigeria is an Africa Fashion Week London initiative .Are you a talented designer, are you interested in showcasing your collection at the Africa Fashion Week Nigeria then send an email to Afwn@africafashionweeklondonuk.comVenue: No 1 Cottage Drive, Lekki Ph 1, Lekki Lagos Nigeria

Obafemi Banigbe | COO, Millicom International,Cellular (TIGO) GhanaObafemi Banigbe is a respected Telecom Professional and a prolific public speaker of high pedigree. His passion for Telecoms made him one of the most respected and admired telecom Professional in the Mobile Telecommunication Field. As a public speaker, Banigbe Obafemi has given well over 350 talks both locally and internationally at many seminars, workshops, conferences, tertiary institutions, community development forum as well as churches.

Alistair Soyede | Founder & CEO, BEN Television UKAlistair Soyede is the founder of BEN TV. BEN TV is the first and longest-running black oriented TV network in the UK as well as Europe. He also heads Nigeria Arise and Initiator of the African Diaspora Investment Forum, the leading non-governmental organisation mobilising the Diaspora to invest in Africa by organising forum and seminars between African businesses in Africa and the Diaspora.

Prof. Manny Aniebonam | President/CEO, AfriHUBProf. Manny C Aniebonam is the Founding President and CEO of AfriHUB LLC, a multi-billion naira company focusing on corporate intervention in digital divide at African universities and government institutions and Founder and National President of the Nigerian IT Professionals in the Americas (NITPA), an organisation of diverse Information Technology practitioners in the Diaspora.

Sanmi Akindipe | CEO, Set Group InternationalSanmi Akindipe is a renown financial building strategist and a highly sought after business speaker and corporate activator. He is the Chief Executive Officer of SetGroup a personal finance company which is into capital market services, Real estate, trainings/seminars ,travels and money matters media. An international financial intelligence speaker and the most sought after penny stock analyst in Nigeria. He sits on board of companies and member of some professional bodies.

Dayo Israel | Make Impact GroupDayo Israel is the special Assistant on International Relations, Strategy & Community Development at the Nigeria National Assembly (Senate). An astute motivational speaker and advisor to many world leaders, business executive, politicians, young entrepreneur and sports professionals. He is one of the Africas leading authorities on Social Entreprise and Youth Development. Dayo has been involved in High Level International advocacy that have earned him enormous International accolades. He's also the Founder/Chief Executive,GLEEHD Foundation for Leadership and International Development

Convener: Paul-Kayode Joash (Host)Founder, MyDoubleDouble and SayitBetter Media GroupFor more than 25 years, Paul-Kayode has been committed to getting people from where they are to where they want to be. A specialist in talent-spotting and development. As a serial entrepreneur with an apostolic edge, he heads several successful operations in the UK, USA, Nigeria & The Phillipines.

* Increase awareness and the momentum about Black Heritage ,History, Culture & Significant achievements to date !* Instil and increase the levels of pride in the next generation of Black leaders

* Propel Black History Month Celebrations to the forefront of the UK mainstream media events calendar.

Award winning arts charity - MISS NUBIAN FOUNDATION have packaged together the biggest BLACK HISTORY MONTH EXTRAVAGANZA , that the UK as seen ,EVER !

In the presence of VIP's & Dignitaries from the world of sport, media, academia, politics, film, fashion & music ,the Prestigious HILTON PADDINGTON will be transformed into a CULTURAL HAVEN and will host a spectacular star studdedENTERTAINMENT FOR HUMANITY themed event that will focus on

ALLEVIATING POVERTY and REDUCING the SPREAD of HIV & AIDS and raising awareness for the following beneficiary charities :

LUPUS UK ,SICKLE CELL UK ,AFRICAN CARIBBEAN Leukaemia TRUST

The spectacular event will showcase an eclectic mix of attractions, that will include,

TownCryaMediaUK Presents: BooshBingBang!'s First Anniversary! A Celebration of Success and Achievement. In just the space of a year they say thank you to all the Artistes that made it a "Huge Success" by patronising the blog and making the platform one of the first top places to promote their works and music. See you guys at the venue, we gon'rock hard on the evening all through the night!Venue: Thomas A Becket, 320 Old Kent Road,SE1 5UE London, United Kingdom

"Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" after so many denials and waiting by his fans, D'banj finally came out with it. His out of the closet"

Dapo Oyebanji, aka D’banj, speaks about his career and relationship with the popular Nollywood actress

Singer, Dapo Oyebanji, aka D’banj, finally opened up on his love life in a rare meeting with journalists in Lagos on Wednesday.

The self-styled Kokomaster was clearly in his elements as he talked at length, amid occasional bouts of laughter, about his career and other issues that were important to him. One of the subjects was about his rumoured relationship with Nollywood actress, Genevieve Nnaji.

Judging by the manner in which the actress’ name kept popping off his lips, it was obvious that D’banj had a very soft spot for her.

Aware that the grapevine had bristled with the rumour that he was romantically involved with Genevieve, ever since she appeared in the 2010 video of his hit song, ‘Fall in Love’, the singer said the actress had played a role in his success.

“Apart from the fact that she is my friend, she has been a part of my success. There is no way you are going to tell my story that Genevieve’s name will not come up because she featured in my biggest song of all time, Fall in Love. So if E True Story comes to Nigeria to interview me, she will definitely be called upon to tell my story,” he said.

As if to confirm that there was more to his relationship with the actress than he had always admitted, D’banj added, “I would love to have Genevieve as my wife. We never can tell what God plans for us in the future. I have studied her and I realised that anyone that has her as his woman has found himself a treasure. Just like the Bible says, any man who finds a wife, finds a good thing.”

Perhaps the fans and admirers of the ‘love birds’ will have to brace themselves for a symbolic wedding of two of the most celebrated artistes on this side of the globe in the nearest future.

Meanwhile, D’banj plans to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his music career anytime in 2014. As expected, the singer aims to roll out the proverbial drums to celebrate in style what he describes as the overwhelming success of his foray into the Nigerian music scene.

The one-time harmonica wielding artiste has, indeed, made tremendous progress in his career since his monster hit, ‘Tongolo’ was released in 2004.

The artiste, who wormed his way into the highly competitive international music market after signing on to Kanye West’s G.O.O.D Music in 2011, no doubt, has finally found his bearing as an entertainer since he parted ways with Mo’Hits.

“So much has happened in the last 18 months and I am very thankful to God. By the Grace of God, I have remained relevant for nearly a decade in the music industry and I have released hit songs every year. Also, I am glad that I have been chosen to headline the Hennessy Artistry this year. This is one brand that understands the importance of aligning with the entertainment industry.

“My career is barely 10 years old. But with the success I have achieved so far, it feels like three decades already. Within my first 10 years as a musician, I have recorded the biggest song and shot the most viewed music video of all time, ‘Oliver Twist’. I must say I am humbled and getting ready to take over,” he said.

Without mincing words, D’banj noted that the history of his career and the resulting accomplishments will be incomplete without mentioning his humble beginning with the defunct Mo’HitsRecords. The mere mention of his erstwhile colleagues, including Don Jazzy, seemed to awaken nostalgic feelings in him.

“If I say I don’t miss Don Jazzy, I am lying. I have spent the better part of my career with him. I was married to him in a way (laughs). So I miss everything about Mo’Hits: the family, the movement, and the vibe of being in the studio with him. I miss the jokes and the arguments, but I have since keyed into the notion that nothing can stop a moving train.

“Nevertheless we can always do music together. The track, ‘Top of the World’ was produced by a Grammy Award Winner. The songs ‘Finally’ and ‘Don’t Tell Me Nonsense’ was produced by my producer while ‘Oliver Twist’ was produced by Don Jazzy. So, why won’t I have him on my 10 years anniversary album?

“I have never said I am a musician; I am an entertainer. Some people say I can pick up a microphone and become a comedian. Therefore nobody should come and ask if I want to go into acting because they should know I am already an actor. It depends on when the right script and concept lands in my hands.

“For now, I am concerned about achieving new things and breaking new grounds. By the time I enter Hollywood, I believe that I’ll become as successful as I have been as a singer. The movie titled ‘I am Banga Lee’, starring Genevieve, to be released in 2014, won’t be a bad idea,” He said.

It seems that the world is at the Kokomaster’s feet. Yet, he is not in denial of the fact that his fans in Nigeria are his greatest assets.

“The Hennessey Artistry Tour afforded me the opportunity to meet my fans here in Nigeria. I have not travelled across the country in a long while because I am abroad all the time. Most of my fans complained that they have not seen me since 2007 and I reallised that I need to be in constant touch with my fans down here.”

"When we thought the American financial issue is restricted to them alone, Okonjo-Iweala drops the bomb."

The current budget row and the possibility of debt default by the United States portend serious danger for Nigeria as the country’s cost of borrowing from the international financial market will likely rise significantly, the Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has said.

She said this while addressing a world press conference on the outcome of the meeting of the Commonwealth Finance Ministers with the leadership of the World Bank and IMF in Washington DC, United States, on Thursday.

Okonjo-Iweala said the crisis in the US would not be favourable to yield and interests accruable on two of the nation’s sovereign debt instruments currently being traded in major financial centres across the globe.

According to her, the stalemate will make it more expensive for the country to borrow from the international financial market.

Nigeria had earlier this year issued a $1bn Eurobond that was heavily subscribed by international investors.

That came two years after the Federal Government had sold its first $500m bond in the international financial market.

Okonjo-Iweala, however, said the current debt row between the US Congress and the President Barack Obama administration was creating a lot of uncertainty in the global financial market, adding that it might affect the performance of Nigeria’s bond if not resolved urgently.

“The present situation in the US creates a lot of uncertainty for developing countries, especially those that have bonds traded in the US market. We hope it is resolved urgently so that it will not hurt the yields and interests on these instruments,” she said.

On the efforts of The Commonwealth to encourage member countries to raise more funds for development internally through taxation, Okonjo-Iweala said the issue of tax evasion by multinationals and local entities had now been brought to the forefront of discussions.

She said before now, the focus had been on corruption in developing countries, but it had now been accepted that tax evasion had become a big problem.

The minister said that an initiative had been set up under the G-8 headed by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to look at financial centres and the issue of tax evasion by companies.

Similarly, she said the African finance ministers had set up a high powered panel chaired by the former South African President, Thabo Mbeki, to look at the issues of tax evasion and illicit financial flows and their impact on the economies of member states.

“This is work in progress and we are trying to look at what we can do; the extent of this problem and exactly what steps we can take to solve the problem,” she said.

The minister also said Nigeria and Tanzania were already looking at their tax systems with a view to plugging loopholes and strengthening compliance levels across the board.

Okonjo-Iweala pointed out that Nigeria recently hired a South African audit firm, McKenzie, to evaluate issues of delayed remittances of taxes by corporate bodies.

On the issue of global trading agreement currently in favour of the developed nations, she said the preference would be for all developing countries to unite for a strong multilateral round at the World Trade Organisation.

" A boy of 9yrs is certified as a Microsoft Professional, This is amazing! I hope he gets the right support he needs to develop more in intelligence. Children like him are referred to as a "Gifted Child" in the UK and are sent to special schools."

A primary six pupil of Role Model School, Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos, has emerged one of the youngest pupils to obtain the Microsoft Certified Professional certificate.

He came tops among 21 pupils who sat for the professional examination in Lagos.

He is now a Microsoft office specialist in office word 2010.

Jomiloju scored 769 out of 1,000 in the examination held in August.

In his examination score report, the slim-built boy performed well in Sharing and Maintaining Documents, Formatting Content, Applying Page Layout, and Reusable Content, among other subjects.

By the feat, Jomiloju has joined the league of young Microsoft certified professionals, including Nigeria’s 10-year-old Anjolaoluwa Seyi-Ojo; an eight-year-old Indian, Lavishnashree, and two Pakistanis, named Arfa and Thobani.

Microsoft Certified Professional is a certification programme provided by Microsoft Corporation. The certification is tailored towards building skills on Microsoft business solutions, focusing on client-end operating systems such as windows XP, Vista, Windows7 among others.

Jomiloju, whose certificate was signed by the Chief Executive Officer, Microsoft Corporation, Steven Ballmer, says he did not achieve this feat easily, but through persistence and hard work.

He says, “It was not all that easy, because I had attempted the examination last year, I did not make it then. But I remained focused and I put in a lot of hard work.

“At home and in the school, I am always on the computer. After school hours, if am not doing anything, I will go to my Information Communication Technology teacher, to learn more.”

Jomiloju sat for the examination when he was in primary Five.

Relating his experience, Jomiloju says, “In all, I answered 20 questions, after answering a question, the computer takes you to another one. And at times, there will be an instruction to skip the next question. But the programme still directs one to come back to those questions one had earlier skipped.”

But was he really scared having failed once to meet the cut off mark? He stresses that he was really afraid due to his earlier experience but he was optimistic of having success, because according to him, he has prepared well.

He also gives kudos to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Tunde-Ladipo, for their support and imbuing in him the ‘can do’ spirit in achieving the success.

He says, “My mum and dad were very supportive. They always tell me never to give up and eventually it paid off. Moreover, they had bought the latest Dell laptop. Again, I am always fascinated about computer. The way it works and the process, and the way it organises data.”

Jomiloju who is a left-handed writer, according to his parents, has been a gifted child. He has always been in love with gadgets. His mum, Toyin, says, “Jomiloju since he was baby had loved playing with gadgets, he was never interested in toys. He would pick up remote controls for both TV and air-conditioner, and he would correctly use them for their specific functions.”

His father adds, “It is not that we are unnecessarily indulging him but he is such a brilliant child. He’s multi-talented. He plays the saxophone, he’s good on keyboard, he acts very well and he’s a good swimmer.

“Each term, he participates in school drama and quiz. He also gets prizes in other subjects, apart from ICT.”

Does Jomiloju want to pursue a career in software/hardware project like Bill Gates and Steve Job? Spotting an innocent smile, the youngster nods his head in affirmative.

His school administrator, Mrs. Adesimbo Banjo, who speaks glowingly about Jomiloju, says the feat recorded by her pupil is a tonic for other pupils.

His ICT teacher, Mr. Mathew Alo, also commends Jomiloju for the feat.

He adds, “Jomiloju was taught all the necessary things he needed to know and he came out as the most outstanding among 20 others from different schools in Lagos.

His class teacher, Mrs. Elizabeth Ogunrinola, says Jomiloju takes his studies seriously. She states, “He is not only good in ICT, but in other subjects. He is hard working and well behaved.”

For Jomiloju, he’s not resting on his oars yet, as he says he is still going to seek more Microsoft certifications.

“I still want to sit for more examinations. I will still do excel and power points,” he says.